Inner Metamorphosis

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Kancha Ilaiah’s tirade against the trading community in his latest offering “Samajika Smugglerlu Komatollu” (Vysyas are Social Smugglers) is a unique blend of misplaced Marxist lens with blinding Hinduphobic tint. Which precisely explains why his theories, each competing with the other in the race to logical abyss, are lapped up by the left-liberal world and Christian missionaries alike. Eyelids become heavy when he refers to himself as a successor to Buddha, Phule and Ambedkar in the recent spate of interviews to Telugu media. If only he had bothered to research a fraction of what Ambedkar did, we would have had a less pompous, but more measured ‘intellectual’. Speaking of ‘intellectual’ (that’s how he refers to himself!), it is instantly clear to any objective viewer that what passes on as a social scientist’s observations are actually nothing more than Hindu hatred in its purest form. Since he repeatedly refers to his “Why I am not a Hindu” as some sort of modern bible, standing b…

What’s it about travelling that greatly transforms one’s perspective?
Is it the first-hand realization of the transience of worldly affairs that we otherwise
put at the center of our existence? Is
it because, for a brief period, we tend to remove our self-centric lens and
instead try to be more empathetic to our surroundings? There is something
profoundly meaningful and satisfying about travelling. While the above is true of traveller and pilgrim, the
latter’s journey extends both ways: external and inner. For the philosophical,
a pilgrimage is more than an act of travelling, transcending physical realms
and touching the mind more than the body. The Tour Begins My one self-imposed condition, during this journey, was
to be as Spartan as possible. Though my meagre savings at that point might have
been a factor, I think the decision was prompted by the genuine desire to travel
with the masses, to experience from close quarters how their everyday life is. When I was starting from Goa, the i…

At a time Bharatavarsha was largely fragmented with Greek invaders still lurking around, a brahmin scholar masterminded their expulsion and reinstated a powerful Indian empire using the military strength of Chandragupta Maurya. Mired in myths, the name Chanakya, invokes to this day, the image of a scheming strategist who used realpolitik as a necessary means to common good. Two millenniums later, the modern nation-state of India found itself in more dire conditions. Four decades of socialist governance brought the nation to the cusp of economic collapse, separatist movements in Punjab, Kashmir, North-East and even Tamil Nadu threatened the democracy, India’s supporter in the world-stage (USSR) was at the brink of breakdown, and the nation just lost its charismatic leader in suicide bomb. Just when it appeared all hope was lost, destiny intervened and brought a scholar-politician on the verge of retirement back to the corridors of power – to the country’s top job. Vinay Sitapati’s “Half…

As a child, the onset
of monsoon was a sad reminder that the summer vacation was coming to an end. Our
entire year revolved around it – yearning for it before its arrival, praying
for its eternity while there and overcoming the deep denial mode when it’s
gone. Even as I recollect them now, it overwhelms
me with nostalgic pleasure. Rudely awakened in
the present, I am alarmed to see young parents determined to deprive their kid
of the wanton joys of summer vacations by putting them through “productive” endeavors. Not to be left behind the school’s
grind, parents take up its role zealously, lest they – oh, the shame – underperform
in comparison. “Competition ka zamana hai”,
they hurl towards anyone suggesting that their child is best left alone at this
(st)age. In a way, it’s not their fault. Many (if not most) in this demographic
have vivid recollections of their humble backgrounds and how their parents’
struggled to meet ends. Their deep-seated insecurities are still lodged in the rece…